Goodbye, Pinot Noir - hello, Paseante Noir?

"In the summer of 1985, Adam Tolmach began to notice that something was rapidly killing the precious estate vineyard he had planted just a few years earlier. Each time the Ojai Vineyard winemaker replanted, the vines quickly perished. It soon became clear that his vines - mostly Syrah, Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Zinfandel - were victims of Pierce's Disease, a lethal bacterium spread by insect carriers that has reemerged as a serious threat to California's wine industry."

"Where Tolmach once grew grapes with household names, in 2017 he planted newly bred varieties no wine drinker had ever heard of: two reds, Paseante Noir and Walker Red, alongside two whites, Ambulo Blanc and Caminante Blanc. Now these are bottled as Tolmach's "Estate Red" and "Estate White." They are the literal fruits of decades-long research led by now-retired Dr. Andrew Walker of UC Davis' Department of Viticulture and Enology."

"Bred specifically to resist Pierce's Disease, the hybrids - officially released just six years ago - are the result of a cross between a European species, Vitis vinifera, and a wild North American one, Vitis arizonica. For "the future of wine and our ability to make it in a more sustainable way, these new hybrids point the way," says Tolmach. 'They're not about imitation; they're about expression. Free from the constraints of fragile, high-maintenance varieties, we can grow these grapes organically, with no spraying and"

Adam Tolmach's estate vineyard experienced rapid vine loss beginning in 1985 due to Pierce's Disease transmitted by insect vectors. Replanting traditional Vitis vinifera varieties repeatedly failed, revealing a growing threat to California wine production intensified by climate change. Tolmach planted newly bred hybrid varieties in 2017 — Paseante Noir, Walker Red, Ambulo Blanc and Caminante Blanc — now sold as Estate Red and Estate White. These hybrids derive from decades of UC Davis breeding that crossed Vitis vinifera with Vitis arizonica to confer Pierce's Disease resistance. The hybrids allow organic, low-spray farming and represent new expressions rather than imitations of traditional varieties.

Read at Los Angeles Times